Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester: A Biography

by Kenneth Hotham Vickers

1424] DEPARTURE FOR HAINAULT

Meanwhile Gloucester had been preparing to assert his claims by force of arms. For some time past he had been in communication with the towns of Hainault,[501] and he had not been behindhand in collecting men in England. Unable to get any support from the Privy Council,[502] he had to fall back on his own resources, and he managed to raise a considerable body of troops, though in some cases his efforts to borrow money met with a curt refusal.[503] On the other hand, he used his position as Warden of the Cinque Ports to secure ships to transport his soldiers,[504] and when the arbitrators had acknowledged their inability to arbitrate, both he and his Duchess considered themselves absolved from their promise to await its decision, a promise, too, which had expired at the end of June.

All things were now ready, but before setting out on their expedition Gloucester and his wife went to take farewell of one, who in her sad confinement could sympathise with the luckless fate of the exiled Jacqueline. On September 14, the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Duchess of Gloucester passed through St. Albans after vespers with an escort of twenty-four horse on her way to Langley to visit Queen Joan, and two days later her husband, accompanied by ‘John Robessart,’ followed in the same direction.[505] By September 29 both Duke and Duchess were at Dover, where an embassy from Mons found them,[506] and Gloucester proceeded to turn his back on England, where in his absence the Bishop of Winchester, as Chancellor, was left to carry on the work of the Protector.[507] It is characteristic of Gloucester that this new attraction had made him forget his political ambitions at home, and that for the time he was content to leave the kingdom in the hands of his rival. For some days hostile winds kept him in port, but before long they veered round, and at ten o’clock on the morning of October 16 he set sail from Dover with forty-two ships, reaching Calais between three and four o’clock of the same day, in spite of a severe storm encountered on the way.[508]

At Calais Duke and Duchess rested for some time, as they had only brought over the vanguard of their army. But they were not idle. Immediately on arrival they each despatched letters to Mons, the capital of Hainault, in which they announced their safe arrival at Calais and their intention to come and take possession of their dominions; meanwhile the town was to make every preparation for their honourable reception.[509] At the same time speculation was rife in the neighbourhood of Calais as to the route which Gloucester would take in his advance on Hainault. On the day after disembarkation, ambassadors appeared from Flanders, and at an audience granted them on the 18th, urged the Duke not to pass through their territory, as it would be inconvenient to them, and since the roads were narrow, the bridges dangerous, and the waterways frequent, to him also. They were told that no decision had yet been taken, but that in any case their country would be unhurt. Following these came other ambassadors from Artois, who in quite another strain begged Humphrey to make use of their country as a means of access to Hainault. Both embassies were courteously received.[510]

1424] GLOUCESTER AT CALAIS

To Calais also came messengers from Bedford with the news that Brabant had sent envoys to Paris to appeal once more to the arbitrators, and with an invitation from the English Regent in France to his brother to meet him at some convenient place to discuss the matter.[511] Gloucester, however, had made up his mind to proceed with his undertaking, and he returned an evasive reply. Nevertheless a Council was called in Paris, mainly it would seem to pacify Burgundy, who was furious at this interference in what he considered his own happy hunting-ground, and after mature consideration terms of agreement were drawn up and sent to the contending parties, Ralph de Boutillier and the Abbot of Fécamp being commissioned to bear them to Humphrey.[512] Though Brabant accepted the terms, neither the Duke nor the Duchess of Gloucester would have anything to do with them, and this last attempt at a settlement failed.[513] We have no record of what these terms were, but it seems likely that they were highly favourable to Burgundy’s protégé, for on hearing of their rejection Duke Philip flew into a mighty passion, and declared roundly to Bedford that he would resist the English claimant with all his forces, a course he could easily take as he had just signed a truce with the Dauphin. With a sad heart Bedford bore with the angry Duke, and attempted to appease his wrath by a round of dancing and jousting. Paris was very gay in her attempt to bolster up the Anglo-Burgundian alliance.[514] For a time these measures were successful, and though he coquetted with the party of the Dauphin, Burgundy did not abandon his friendship with England.[515]

Meanwhile Gloucester had had some correspondence with the Pope, partly with reference to the slanders which he thought a certain Simon de Taramo had uttered against him, and partly on the subject of the delay in admitting Martin V.’s nephew, Prospero Colonna, to the Archdeaconry of Canterbury, a delay probably fostered by Gloucester, as a hold over the man who could make his marriage undeniably legal.[516] The correspondence on both sides was of a most friendly nature, and in one letter the Duke urged a speedy granting of the divorce, which he desired not only because of his great love for Jacqueline, but also because of the underhand behaviour of his opponents.[517] This complaint of underhand dealings would be hardly justified were we to accept as genuine another correspondence attributed to this time, and preserved in the Archives at Lille. According to these letters, a plot, to which Bedford was privy, was on foot between Gloucester, Suffolk, and Salisbury to murder the Duke of Burgundy, much in the same way as his father had met his end at the Bridge of Montereau. Much circumstantial evidence is to be found therein, showing that Gloucester’s motive was to prevent Burgundian interference with his Hainault plans.[518] It is, however, beyond dispute that these letters were the work of one William Benoist, who forged them at the instigation of the Constable de Richemont for the latter’s political purposes.[519] Neither Bedford nor Gloucester would have stooped to such an expedient, for though the younger of the two brothers might be unscrupulous and ambitious, yet murder was a crime of which no one could imagine him guilty. With all his faults he would never have thus tarnished his fair name.

1424] MARCH FROM CALAIS TO HAINAULT

The month of October was now passed, and the Earl Marshal had arrived in the early morning of November 2 with forty-two sail and the second detachment of Gloucester’s army, and on the evening of the same day four more ships arrived. A week later the troops marched out as far as the castle of Guisnes, there to await the last contingent which was now due. They had not long to wait, for on November 13 twenty-two more ships arrived at Calais, and immediately preparations were made for the start.[520] Early in the morning of November 18 Gloucester led out his men on the first stage of the march to Hainault.[521] The vanguard consisted of 1100 horse, or thereabouts, with 800 horse and 300 men-at-arms in the main battle, while the rearguard comprised 2000 men, in all, therefore, the force consisted of some 4200 troops.[522] Over this army the Earl Marshal had supreme command.[523] It is strange that with his military experience Gloucester did not undertake to lead his troops in person, but the explanation may be found in the report of his physician as to his state of health, which seems to have been anything but good at this time.[524] The route chosen for the march was through Artois, by way of Thérouaune and Béthune, and passing to the north of Lens, the army reached Hainault territory, making its first halt therein at Bouchain.[525] All through the county of Artois, which was Burgundian territory, the utmost care was taken to keep the soldiers in strict order; neither were the people annoyed nor was the country injured by the passage of the English forces.[526] All this was done to the end that no personal injury should induce Duke Philip to resist the invasion of those territories which were claimed by the Duke of Brabant.

In Hainault there was no rejoicing when the return of their long absent princess was announced. The traders and merchants of the towns had increased their prosperity during the Regency of John of Bavaria, the able and unscrupulous ex-Bishop of Liége, to whom Brabant had yielded the government of Jacqueline’s dominions for a term of years. Whatever might be the private convictions of the citizen class, they cared for nothing so much as for peace, and this new invasion, though undertaken in the name of hereditary right and good government, only promised a long civil war and the consequent disturbance of trade and commerce.[527] The nobles might champion Jacqueline, or range themselves under the banner of Brabant, but they were not the most important factor in the country. It was on the support of the towns that any governmental authority must be based, for these strong trading communities had been enabled to strengthen themselves against the rural nobility by superior organisation and co-operation, and by superior wealth. All that they needed was a strong hand to govern the country with impartiality and justice, to keep the turbulent nobility in check, and to give untrammelled opportunities for expanding commerce and acquiring wealth. This ideal had been practically realised under the government of John of Bavaria—though his energies had been devoted more to Holland and Zealand than to Hainault—a realisation which was not expected from the rule of Jacqueline and her unknown English husband. It was in this spirit, therefore, that the town of Valenciennes refused to admit her Countess within her walls,[528] and that the citizens of Mons sent an urgent embassy to the Dowager-Countess, asking her to use her influence to induce her daughter not to enter their city, nor to bring ‘Monsieur de Gloucester’ with her;[529] indeed, if we are to believe an English chronicler, the various states of Jacqueline’s heritage had united in offering Humphrey an annual tribute of £30,000 to be left in peace.[530]